Overview
Maushold is a fast set up sweeper with the potential to mop the floor with any team it faces. 111 base speed allows Maushold to get the jump on offensive threats like guts Heracross, Mamoswine, Rotom-H, and Squawkability and OHKO them using Population bomb even without a +1 attack boost from Tidy Up. It can OHKO Blissey, and 2HKO physically defensive walls like Mandibuzz and Chesnaught which makes it a top offensive threat this month.
It also has a lot of set variety. Maushold gets Bite (90 base power with Technician), Aerial Ace (90 base power) and Bullet Seed (37.5 base power per hit) as coverage, and can act as a fast pivot with U-turn to get out of a bad matchup or generate momentum. It also has some utility moves like the aforementioned Tidy Up which can remove hazards, Taunt to stop hazards and boosting moves like Swords Dance, Encore to hinder walls, and Thunder Wave for speed control.
Sets
Late Game Sweeper
Maushold @ Wide Lens
Ability: Technician
Tera Type: Normal
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Tidy Up
- Population Bomb
- Bite
- Bullet Seed
Maushold is able to kill just about anything with Tidy Up and Population Bomb, so the 2 remaining moves will depend on what mons the rest of the team is unable to remove. Bite is for ghost types like Sableye, Dusclops, and Dhelmise, Bullet Seed is for Quagsire and any other mon that might be holding a rocky helmet, and Aerial Ace is to 2HKO Chesnaught while taking minimal damage from a potential rocky helmet.
Substitute is also an option to punish switching and status from slower mons like Blissey or Rotom-H. Additionally, it gives Maushold some safety against a Scizor looking to revenge kill with Bullet Punch.
Fast Pivot
Maushold @ Wide Lens
Ability: Technician
Tera Type: Normal
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Population Bomb
- U-turn
- Tidy Up
- Bite
This set is more focused on hazard removal and pivoting while still having the option to sweep with Population Bomb. Bite can be switched out for Bullet Seed or Aerial Ace, like mentioned above. Wide lens can also be switched out for heavy-duty boots to allow Maushold to repeatedly switch in and remove hazards without being worn down by chip damage.
Anti-Lead
Maushold @ Wide Lens
Ability: Technician
Tera Type: Normal
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Taunt
- U-turn
- Tidy Up
- Population Bomb
Taunt is a valuable move to stop stealth rocks from being set, and U-turn helps generate momentum after stopping rocks. Population Bomb can be switched out for Bullet Seed to hit common stealth rock leads like Runerigus and Quagsire for super effective damage.
Checks & Counters
Rocky Helmet
This item sucks for physical attackers, but Maushold especially despises it. Rocky helmet deals 1/6th of a mon’s hp when hit by a contact move. This means that hitting a rocky helmet user with Population Bomb 6 times is enough to kill Maushold from full, making it a pretty scary item to watch out for.
For this reason, user aryecki has popularized the use of Protective Pads. This item protects the user from effects like rocky helmet which prevents it from being stopped dead in its tracks, but it does mean that Population Bomb becomes a little bit less reliable and more prone to missing.
Chesnaught
This defensive wall commonly runs rocky helmet, which can be a massive pain to play against. +0 Population bomb also does between 57.8%-71% to max hp and defense impish Chesnaught while it can OHKO with Body Press.
Scizor
According to False Swipe Gaming, speed isn’t always everything, and Scizor proves this theorem. Scizor is able to 2HKO Maushold with Bullet Punch, and will OHKO with a +2 boost. It also either resists Maushold’s moves or takes minimal damage, ensuring that it can fire off a Close Combat or getting a game winning Swords Dance.
Spooky Ghost Bois
Sableye and Dusclops can give Maushold a hard time by being immune to Population Bomb. Both also get access to Will-o-Wisp which can completely stop its sweeping capabilities, especially Sableye since it gets Prankster which will always outspeed Maushold. Prankster Taunt can also stop Maushold from setting up which stops it dead in its tracks. Dusclops can also use Destiny Bond to take it down with it, though the move is quite rarely used. For these reasons, Substitute and Taunt/Encore are good moves to have on Maushold.
Honorable Mentions
Scarf Heracross can outspeed an unboosted Maushold and OHKO it using Close Combat, but is outsped by it after a single Tidy Up and OHKOed by Population Bomb. Similarly, banded Dhelmise can OHKO it using Anchor Shot or Power Whip, but it’ll have to survive a 90 base power Bite and not flinch first. Mandibuzz can also check Maushold not only because it can run rocky helmet, but a +1 Maushold will take 75%-88.5% from foul play, putting it at risk of being revenge killed by a priority move from Scizor, Mamoswine, or sometimes Squawkability.
Partners
Scizor
One of Maushold’s best checks is also one of its best partners. Scizor provides Knock Off support to remove those pesky rocky helmets and ghosts while deleting Chesnaught using Dual Wingbeat. It can also stop opposing Maushold from sweeping the game, allowing your Maushold to take home victory instead. It also benefits from the mouse removing its best check, Mandibuzz, allowing for a potential Scizor win con.
Heracross
Heracross is another generally good mon this month. Both its guts and scarf sets are great at wallbreaking, allowing for Maushold to clean up later. It can also wear down Scizor or even kill it, ensuring that nothing will be able to outspeed the mouse at the end.
Mandibuzz
Mandibuzz is a great wall and can remove Scizor, which really threatens Maushold. It can also slow pivot, bringing Maushold in safely so that it can start wreaking havoc.
Honorable Mentions
Other wallbreakers like Mamoswine or Squawkability are good since they can help wear Chesnaught or Scizor, however they aren’t quite as effective at removing Maushold’s checks or are inconsistent (Hustle shenanigans). Dhelmise is also a solid partner since its typing compliments Maushold well offensively. It can trap and eliminate Chesnaught and rocky helmet Quagsire while also dealing solid damage to Sableye and Dusclops, but the duo requires quite a bit of team support and will lose to Scizor and scarf Heracross most of the time.
Final Thoughts
Though Maushold can be a bit inconsistent at times due to how Population Bomb works, it still manages to pull its weight and some more, rightfully earning the title of one of, if not the best late game sweeper of August 2024. Shoutout to aryecki for cooking up the protective pads idea and to frog4447 for helping me make this analysis.
Written by AlfrexFrostStaff